Take it from me at 5ft5 – life’s too short to care about being short

With a story about another astonishing medical surgery that can add inches to a person’s height in the news, Tom Brada, who made a BBC documentary on the subject, makes the case for the unsung advantages of being pint-sized

Growing up can be a tricky business. Hormones everywhere, a minefield of emotions to navigate and your body throwing curveball after pubescent curveball. And what if one of those curveballs is literally about growing…up?

That’s right, I’m talking about height. That pre-determined genetic trait over which you have zero control, yet which society apparently deems to be of outsized importance. I am myself a pretty petite person and I lay the responsibility squarely at the door of my dear 98-year-old grandmother, who is a mighty 4ft11. More on her later. Blessed with Granny’s genes, being a bonafide shortie (5ft5, since you ask) is part of what makes me who I am. Something, which as it happens, I now love about myself.

But in a culture which pushes the mantra “bigger is better”, being short is often painted as a major obstacle to be overcome. Many members of the compact community live with an acute awareness of another problematic mantra: “tall, dark and handsome”. With “tall” sat at the very top of this Love Island trifecta of doom, many men worry about how size might sway their chances when it comes to success on the dating scene and beyond.

With some of this emotional baggage in tow, back in 2020 I made a BBC documentary about people who were struggling desperately with their height and who were willing to take drastic action. The drastic action being a procedure which involves breaking your leg bones, gradually pulling them apart and then letting them heal back together once you’ve reached your desired height. The process is more sophisticated than my feeble descriptive sentence and can deliver extraordinary results for people who are in dire straits or living with limb discrepancies. But it is an immensely gruelling undertaking, which can push people to the absolute limits of their physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

Periodically I am asked what I think about leg-lengthening surgery when the procedure pops up once again in the news cycle – in The Times this week, we learned of Alfie Phillips, nine, who was born with a shorter right leg and, in a pioneering first from a team of crack British scientists, had it lengthened by magnets. As one commenter said: "’It takes a village to raise a child’: what a village he has!” Quite.

My overarching feeling is this. People are within their rights to deal with their issues exactly as they see fit. But I came away from that documentary project feeling torn. What does it say about our culture, that people are willing to put themselves in harm's way for a few extra inches? Yes, there are some challenges that come from being small. But it does not and should not determine who you are in a negative way. And my goodness, there are benefits too.

So in no particular order, here are some of the unsung advantages of being pint-sized.

Firstly, you are chronically underestimated. And there is no greater strategic advantage in life than being underestimated. People relax around you. They lower their guard. They lower their expectations. Then boom… you bowl them over with your brilliance. Secondly, when you can’t physically loom, you learn to project in other ways. On a subconscious level you cultivate the subtler qualities which capture the attention of a room.

Thirdly, you stand out. Everyone is looking for a USP – why else would anyone wear a bowtie? People may forget another six-foot-something in a sea of six-foot-somethings. They won’t quickly forget the five-foot-four whirlwind.

Then there’s the luxurious amount of legrooms. Cars, planes, trains - while the tall are forced into origami contortions, you’re reclining like royalty. You have a superior centre of gravity. Physics is ever on your side. Shorties benefit from better balance and a much lower statistical chance of trips, topples and tumbles.

Tom and his Granny (Supplied)

I could also rattle off a list of hugely successful petite people to persuade you that size isn’t the be-all-end-all. Actually here’s a short list (ho ho) so you get the gist – Lionel Messi, Simone Biles, Prince, Kylie Minogue, Napoleon. The point is, their achievements aren’t impressive in spite of their height. Their height is simply irrelevant.

Which brings me right on back to my glorious Granny. Ninety-eight years old. Wise like a tree. 4ft11. Zero chucks given.

She has never apologised for the space (or lack of it) that she takes up. She has never felt or behaved “less than” just because she is small. She has simply existed – very unapologetically and for a very long time – in the body she was born into.

And that’s the lesson.

Everyone has something they wish they could change about themselves. Too big, small, short, tall, nothing is off limits when it comes to human capacity for self-hate. But insecurities do not determine who you are. Height does not measure your ambition and your stature should never get in the way of your capacity for love, or fun, or success. So if you can, I implore you, try to care less.

Sure, I am short. But being short has never made me small.